News review – Thursday 12 July 2018

Conservative Party

Telegraph
Jacob Rees-Mogg has urged Tory supporters opposed to the Chequers deal to join the Conservative Party and help change it from within amid a grassroots rebellion.The Prime Minister is facing a backlash from Conservative associations across the country over her proposed Brexit plan, which has been described by Eurosceptic MPs and Leave voters as a “betrayal of Brexit”.Several Conservative Association chairmen are now openly calling on the Prime Minister to stand down.

Times
Theresa May faces a rebellion by dozens of her own MPs on Monday in a Commons vote that they hope will deliver a blow to her Chequers plan for Brexit.Jacob Rees-Mogg, who leads the European Research Group of Brexiteer Tory MPs, is tabling amendments to a bill that would challenge the plan.“Unfortunately Chequers was a breakdown in trust,” he said. “Brexit meant Brexit, but now it appears Brexit means remaining subject to European laws.”

MailTheresa May last night faced claims she shared her Brexit plan with Angela Merkelbefore revealing it to her Cabinet at Chequers.The Prime Minister is alleged to have blocked a suggested change from one of her ministers during the away day because it had already been approved by the German Chancellor.In an article for the Spectator, journalist Charles Moore wrote: ‘At Chequers, I hear, one of her responses to suggested changes in her blueprint was to say, ‘No, that’s not possible, because I’ve already cleared it [the existing text] with Mrs Merkel’.’

Sun
THERESA May faces a fresh outcry after claims she told Ministers she couldn’t alter her Brexit plan – as she’d “cleared it” with Angela Merkel.Reports claim stunned Cabinet Ministers were given the extraordinary excuse at the crunchChequers summit last Friday.Asked about a possible change to the Brexit blueprint, the PM was said to have told them: “No, that’s not possible.“Because I’ve already cleared [the existing text] with Mrs Merkel.”A No.10 source last night vehemently denied the claims – in the Spectator – which came on the eve of the publication of the PM’s Brexit ‘White Paper’ on Thursday.

ITV News
Brussels has warned that Theresa May’s Brexit proposals must be workable in order to avoid a no deal scenario as the Government reveals details of its controversial EU withdrawal plans.Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is insisting the much-anticipated Government white paper setting out its exit aims is practical and respects the referendum result while backing business.But chief Brussels negotiator Michel Barnier said the proposals must conform to EU rules and not create extra costs.

Sun
THERESA May faces the biggest Brexit rebellion of her premiership after furious Eurosceptics today formally launched a bid to block her Chequers plan.The Sun can reveal that Jacob Rees-Mogg and fellow Tory backbenchers have lodged a total of FOUR amendments to alter Government’s flagship Trade Bill – claiming No 10 has “broken their trust”.It’s the first big show of strength by the Eurosceptic grouping on the Tory backbenches and threatens to wipe out Theresa May’s Commons majority when the bill goes before MPs on Monday.And one of the motions is backed by the DUP – in a hint the unionist party could be ready to drop its support for the PM.

Sky News
Tory eurosceptics have fired their opening salvo in a bid to kill off the prime minister’s Chequers plan for Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the European Union.They have tabled for amendments to the Customs Bill on the eve of the government publishing a white paper setting out Theresa May’s blueprint in full.What had been outlined so far has sparked a backlash from Brexiteers and prompted the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson.Given the perilous parliamentary arithmetic, a rebellion by eurosceptic backbenchers could wipe out Mrs May’s majority when the bill comes back to the Commons on Monday.

Express
THERESA May is facing a revolt and is risking the collapse of her Government as Brexiteer MPs, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, table four amendments in a bid to sabotage her Chequers Brexit plan.The European Research Group (ERG) led by Mr Rees-Mogg wants to amend the Prime Minister’s Trade Bill as they claim the Government has “broken their trust”.One amendment demands the UK does not collect taxes on behalf of the EU unless EU member states do the same. This amendment would make Mrs May’s facilitated customs arrangement plan impossible.

Express
THERESA May has just days to come up with a new Brexit plan or face a vote of no confidence that would pose a serious threat to her leadership.According to the Daily Telegraph, Tory Brexiteers now claim they have 48 fellow MPs who are willing to submit letters to the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, triggering a confidence vote of the parliamentary party.MP Andrew Bridgen said he was submitting his own letter of no confidence in Mrs May to the committee. The Prime Minister ordered her reshuffled Cabinet to attend a second meeting in Newcastle on July 23 as a way of uniting her ministers with Brexit talks due to enter yet another crucial phase.

Telegraph
A “small cabal” in Downing Street holds Brexiteers in “contempt”, a senior Eurosceptic has warned amid a mass Eurosceptic rebellion over the Prime Minister’s Chequers compromise.Writing for the Telegraph, Maria Caulfield, who quit as a Conservative vice-chairman earlier this week, says that the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan is “catastrophically bad” and will be a “disaster for the Conservative Party”.The Prime Minister will on Thursday face a huge backlash from Eurosceptics when she publishes her Brexit White Paper, setting out in detail her plan after it was hammered out at Chequers, her rural retreat.

WestmonsterThere is a small cabal that really pulls the strings at Downing Street and they hold Brexiteers in contempt, according to the former Vice-Chair of the Tory Party.Maria Caulfield, who resigned over May’s botched Brexit plans, has written in The Telegraph: “Instead of exploring this perfectly acceptable solution a small cabal in Downing Street has dreamt up a fiendishly complex arrangement that seeks to recreate large parts of the EU’s single market. This approach comes with serious costs.

Brexit

GuardianHardline Tory Brexiters plan to try to force Theresa May to publish a rival draft of the white paper drawn up by David Davis in the run-up to last week’s Chequers summit, which Downing Street ditched.The abandoned draft set out something closer to a Canada-style trade deal, with additional elements drawn from other EU agreements, sources told the Guardian – an alternative to the approach to be set out in the government’s Brexit white paper, due to be published on Thursday.Backbenchers from the European Research Group (ERG) will table a “humble address” in parliament, demanding that Davis’s draft be made public, as the Conservative party descends into all-out parliamentary warfare over Brexit.

Express
BREXIT will “end freedom of movement” and “take back control” of British laws according to new plans to be revealed today, according to the Prime Minister in an optimistic statement.Mrs May will release the Brexit White Paper today which will lay out her intentions for a Brexit deal.The terms were agreed at a tense Chequers meeting last Friday and led to the resignations of both the Brexit Secretary David Davis and the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.The Prime Minister said: “Does our plan mean an end to freedom of movement, will we be able to sign our own trade deals and will the UK be outside the jurisdiction of the European Court?“I’m very pleased to say the answers are very simple: yes, yes and yes.”

Mirror
Theresa May is back on the ropes after furious Tory MPs launched an official bid to block her plan for Brexit.The Prime Minister has only just survived the bombshell resignations of Boris Johnson and David Davis over her Chequers blueprint.The pair stormed out in a blaze of glory and spite over her new softBrexit plan which Mr Johnson claimed would reduce Britain to a “colony” raising the “white flag”. He added the Brexit “dream is dying”.But now she faces yet another test to her premiership with the biggest rebellion of her two-year reign.

Sun
SAJID Javid risked infuriating Eurosceptics yesterday by saying Britain may never introduce a post-Brexit visa regime for EU nationals.While insisting free movement would “totally” end, the Home Secretary said the UK may drop demands for visas in the hope of a better trade deal.And he gave the clearest hint yet that Theresa May’s net migration target will be scrapped in the run up to the next Election.Speaking to the Home Affairs Select Committee, he said the target of reducing net migration to the “tens of thousands” was an “ambition for this Parliament”.

Westmonster
More than half of those who voted for Brexit don’t think Theresa May’s EU plan respects the referendum result.A new poll by YouGov for The Times confirms that voters are not behind the Chequers proposal, with 58% of Leave voters saying it simply does not respect the country’s vote for Brexit.Only 23% of Brits say it does respect the result and just 13% think such a deal would be good for Britain.In the same poll Labour have overtaken the Conservatives, another trend that has been seen since May’s disastrous unveiling of her Brexit plan.This should be a huge wake-up call for Tories.

HoL

Independent
The House of Lords has passed the EU Withdrawal Bill after peers backed down on an amendment about allowing Parliament to have a say on the final Brexit deal. The news means Theresa May’s flagship Brexit bill has cleared its final parliamentary hurdle after she managed to avoid a backbench rebellion with an eleventh hour concession to pro-EU Tories. MPs voted by 319 to 303 to reject a House of Lords amendment that would have ensured the Commons would have the chance to block a “no deal” Brexit.

UKIP

Westmonster
Theresa May’s pitiful Brexit plan is coinciding with a re-rise of UKIP, with thousands of new members having joined the party over the last month or so.Westmonster can exclusively reveal that around 1,000 members joined the party in June, and an additional 2,000 have joined in July so far, according to a source.The source also confirmed that there had been a surge in membership applications since May’s Chequers stitch-up that has subsequently seen the likes of David Davis and Boris Johnson resign.

Trade

Times
Theresa May’s plan for a “common rule book” with the EU effectively prohibits a post-Brexit free trade deal with India, a confidential report suggests.A review conducted by the British and Indian governments this year found that EU rules on food standards and chemical safety were a significant obstacle to trade between the countries.In the agreement reached at Chequers last week, however, the cabinet decided it would keep EU rules on goods indefinitely, meaning that Britain cannot change standards to satisfy Indian business as it pursues any deal.

Sun
FOIE gras is unlikely to be banned after Brexit because it would hinder a free trade deal being done with the EU, Michael Gove has told MPs.The Environment Secretary said France would almost certainly object to any free trade agreement that barred the sale of the controversial food product in the UK.It marks a U-turn by Mr Gove, who earlier this year said he was considering a ban on foie gras as part of a wider package of reforms to tighten animal welfare rules after we leave the EU.EU single market rules currently prevents Britain from banning practices such as the export of live animals for slaughter.

Sky News
The RSPCA has expressed anger at Michael Gove’s suggestion a Brexit deal with the EU could block Britain from placing a ban on imports of “cruel” foie gras.The environment secretary claimed pressure from French farmers could see Brussels derail any UK bid to end imports of the luxury food once outside the EU.Mr Gove told the House of Commons environmental audit committee on Wednesday: “It may be the case that the French government, on behalf of its farmers, would feel that any free trade agreement between the UK and EU that imposed restrictions on foie gras would be one with which they could not live.

Guardian
Angry hardline Brexiters have submitted four amendments to the government’s trade bill, arguing that Theresa May has broken their trust with the soft Brexit negotiating plan she unveiled at Chequers.The European Research Group (ERG) fronted by Jacob Rees Mogg wants MPs to kill off May’s facilitated customs arrangement in an amendment to Monday’s bill, which calls for the UK to refuse to collect duties for the EU unless member states do likewise.A second amendment, which is backed by the DUP and Labour’s Kate Hoey, would force the government to agree in law to a commitment to never having a border in the Irish sea.

Sky News
The UK will remain the strongest of US allies after Brexit, Theresa May has pledged as she prepares to host Donald Trump on his controversial visit to the UK.The prime minister has hailed the president’s visit as an opportunity to boost UK-US trade post-Brexit and to strengthen co-operation on security and anti-terrorism.But the threat of mass protests and demonstrations has prompted the biggest police operation since the 2011 riots, with nearly every force in England and Wales contributing officers.

Health

Times
Hospitals are still using 9,000 fax machines, according to a survey that highlights the NHS’s struggle with modern technology.Senior doctors said it was “ludicrous” that the NHS was talking about robot surgery and diagnosis by artificial intelligence while relying on 1980s communications. They urged hospitals to move into the 21st century and use modern technology to book appointments, make referrals and share patient records.No hard figures had been available on how widespread faxes were in the NHS.

Train travel

Mail
Rail bosses have warned passengers they face travel chaos on Sunday because of a shortage of train drivers caused by the World Cup.Executives at Govia Thameslink Railway told MPs during a meeting in Parliament that drivers have refused to work on Sunday because they do not want to miss the tournament final – especially with England only one win away from being in it before last night’s loss to Croatia.Govia operates the troubled Thameslink and Southern routes, as well as Great Northern and Gatwick Express.

Education

Mail
The number of foreign students applying to British universities has hit a record high – despite warnings about the impact of Brexit.Official figures show 125,510 European Union and overseas candidates have applied to take up degree places this autumn.This will be welcome news to institutions amid fears that applicants could be deterred after the referendum vote.The number of EU applicants to UK universities has risen 2 per cent to 50,130, said the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.This has been boosted by a record 75,380 students applying from outside the European bloc – an increase of 6 per cent on last year.

NATO

Times
President Trump stunned Theresa May and Nato allies yesterday by calling for them to double their defence spending target.The US president also undermined a communiqué, agreed by all 29 states of the alliance, with comments on Twitter within two hours of its release.Mr Trump had called on Nato states to increase military spending from 2 per cent to 4 per cent of GDP in an address to his 28 fellow leaders at the North Atlantic Council, the centrepiece session of the biennial two-day summit at Nato’s new £1 billion headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels. His tone was described by one source as imperious.

Breitbart
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has suggested that NATO allies not just hit the bare-minimum spending level required of members of the alliance, but double their spending beyond that as he continues to pile on the pressure in what is turning out to be a singularly exceptional NATO summit.The comments, that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members should go beyond spending two per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence — the present minimum expected of signatories — and go for four per cent instead, were reported from a private summit meeting in Brussels Wednesday by the Bulgarian Prime Minister.

Trump visit

Telegraph
Donald Trump could voice support for a hard Brexit during his UK visit, allies of the president have predicted in a move that would pile pressure on Theresa May. Sources close to Mr Trump have told The Telegraphthat he is a supporter of a clean break with Brussels and may say so publicly if asked. The US president believes Germany dominates the European Union and wants Britain to be “independent”, according to well-placed sources. It raises the prospect that Mr Trump could criticise theChequers plan which Mrs May revealed last week and which triggered the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson.

Times
Police are planning to face 100,000 protesters in London during President Trump’s four-day visit to Britain.The biggest mobilisation of officers since the 2011 riots is needed to deal with the patchwork of groups criticising the US president’s politics and morals. It is estimated that it will cost up to £10 million.In anticipation of the unprecedented vitriol directed at a serving president, the US embassy told Americans to keep a low profile and “exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings that may become violent”.

About The Author

Debbie has been a journalist for longer than she cares to admit! She has been freelance for the last 15 years and is an associate editor on UKIP Daily, specialising in covering the morning press each day.

11 Comments

May’s apparent agreement with Merkel before acceptance by her own government, then disallowing debate on it is way beyond acceptable. That act alone should see the end of her. How much more treachery do the Conservative supporters need to see before they realise the real nature of the beast? Time for them to put country before party.

Quite agree Jack. It seems that May is repeating her ‘taking back control of our laws, our borders and our money’ Mansion House speech, but all the analysis of what she is proposing says the complete opposite. I await the White Paper today with great interest.

I have followed Mrs Mays career. Her only tactic is to offer what is required…….Then quietly remove it……She is considered a reliable politician, this says it all……..She must be considered as deeply treacherous in all her dealings…… Every statement she makes and every move she makes must be minutely examined for possible meddling by the civil service and economy with the truth……..The Home Office has long been a shambles. Mrs May has made it worse……

Unconfirmed, however I read in the Evening Standard (apologies) that Sir Christopher Meyer 74 has been brutally attacked at a train station in central London and is now in hospital.

This happens whilst the US embassy is warning Americans in London to keep a low profile due to the fervour of anti – US President Donald Trump sentiment protests whipped up in part by Khan, paid for by others and underpinned by UK MSM like the BBC.